


Internal Reflection

by Terrie



Series: Natural Phenomena [10]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Hospitals, Injury, M/M, Star wars quotes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 17:30:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11235810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terrie/pseuds/Terrie
Summary: Harry has limits on what he can deal with.





	Internal Reflection

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I hated waiting on the cliffhanger from the last story as well, so this one went pretty quick. (I'm also out of the brace I had to wear for tendinitis. Yay!)
> 
> As always, thanks to everyone who has commented and left kudos on this story. I truly appreciate it.

The glassware crashes to the floor so fast that Barry doesn’t have time to react. Or maybe he's just too stunned to do so. Either way, Harry is left standing in a shower of glass. The shards glitter where they are caught in the black of his sweater and crunch beneath his feet. Distantly, Harry can hear his breath rasping in his chest, but it doesn't matter. "Who? Who hurt him?"

"We don't know." Barry holds his hands out in a placating gesture, as if he's afraid Harry will toss him around the way he just did the lab’s glassware. "We don't even know if someone is responsible. The explosion could have been an accident. Besides, that not what's important right now."

"Not important? Of course it's important. If I don't know who did this, how do I stop them?" His hands clench until his joints hurt.

"What are you going to do, Harry? Track them down and kill them?"

Harry stills. The roar of his thoughts increases as he is caught between two things he knows absolutely. If someone hurt Cisco, Harry wants to destroy them, rip them apart with hands and teeth. If he does that, he will hurt Cisco. He raises shaking hands to his face, tries to control the chaos of his mind. "Where is he? I need to see him."

"Caitlin stayed with him in the ambulance. They're on their way to the hospital, along with the other victims. Iris is driving the car. We’re going to meet them there, okay?"

"Okay. I can… okay." He takes two steps forward. His shoes slide in the glass, and he almost falls. Harry looks down at mess. Broken flasks and beakers litter the floor. He knows he did it, but the memory is fuzzy. He tries to focus. "I should…"

A touch to his wrist makes him look up. Barry gives him a wary, tired look. "Hey, go change. You can't go to the hospital with glass all over your clothes. I'll clean this up."

\---

Once he gets moving, Harry is quick to strip off the glass-contaminated cloth. The baseball cap isn’t a perfect disguise, but it obscures his features at least a little and he makes sure to grab the ID that proclaimed him to be Harry C. Williams and certainly not Harrison Wells. And now he stands in the waiting room of the CCH ER and feels his thoughts start to scatter. He knows he needs to get to Cisco, but he can’t bring himself to even move from the doorway until there's a rough shove of someone pushing past him.

He stumbles in, Barry at his elbow. It's crowded and noisy and he doesn't see Caitlin or Iris anywhere. He must lose some time, because the next thing he knows, he’s sitting with Barry on one side and Iris on the other. It should probably scare him, but the importance of it pales next to finding out what is happening with Cisco.

Iris takes his hand in hers. He stares down at their intertwined fingers. The warmth of her hand makes him realize how icy cold his own are. "Harry… Harry!"

He blinks. He has no idea how long Iris has been calling his name. "Is he okay?"

"Caitlin is with him. As soon as she knows what's happening, she's going to come tell us."

He doesn't miss that no one yet knows what's happening. His free hand grips his knee, fingers digging into flesh. The pain helps him focus. "How long?"

"I don’t know. The ambulance got here about ten minutes ago. Cisco wasn’t the only one hurt and not the worst. But Caitlin is with him, and she's going to make sure he's taken care of, okay?"

He nods in understanding, though not agreement. It's not okay. Sitting, waiting, it can never be okay. He itches, deep down to his bones. He wants to pace, eat away at time and distance with movement, but too afraid to upset the balance of the moment. It bleeds off him in drumming fingers and bouncing knees. He doesn't look at the clock, measuring time in breaths, not minutes.

He wants Jesse.

He wants Cisco.

He gets Caitlin, crouched in front of him, her hand on one knee. "Hi. How are you doing, Harry?"

"How is he?" Harry isn’t the important one.

"He’s going to be okay." 

The tension drains from his body, and he's suddenly exhausted. He feels tears burn at the corners of his eyes and fights them back. Crying now is stupid. Caitlin continues, "He has a concussion. A lot of bruises and scrapes. A few cuts. At least one is going to need stitches. They're still deciding if they want to keep him overnight, but I'm guessing they won’t. I can take you back to see him."

"Please." 

Caitlin leads him back. With each step, he reminds himself _he’s alright, he's alright, he’s alright_. It forms a steady litany that keeps him moving forward, until they reach a room. Caitlin gestures him through the doorway. Harry has to force himself not to shut his eyes. Cisco looks pale, a greyish tone to his skin. There is dried blood along his hairline, with a few streaks left on his cheek where someone failed to completely wipe it away. A long scrape turns one forearm angry and red. He can pick out several bruises, the largest decorating the line of Cisco's jaw.

"Hey." His voice cracks slightly. Harry clears his throat and tries again. "Are you… Can I…?"

He reaches out, wanting to touch and afraid to hurt. He lightly runs a single finger over a span of Cisco’s forehead that seems undamaged. Cisco reaches up to take his hand. The movement makes him wince, and Harry quickly grabs a chair so he can sit. That way, Cisco doesn't have to reach upward.

Slowly, carefully, Cisco wraps Harry's hand in his. He’s squinty-eyed and tired looking. "Hey. You’re here."

"Of course I'm here, you idiot. Where else would I be?" Cisco’s hands are bruised, but Harry runs his thumb along the soft, mostly unblemished skin on the inside of Cisco’s wrist.

"I don’t know. Tell me you’re just here to take me home."

"Absolutely not!" He grips Cisco’s hand hard enough to make him flinch slightly. He quickly eases up. "You’re staying right here until the doctors say you can leave."

Cisco frowns. "Caitlin can take care of me. I trust her."

"Caitlin is an excellent research doctor, but you are not a research subject. The doctors here can take good care of you."

"No." Cisco pulls at the grip Harry has on his hand. When Harry doesn’t let go, he becomes agitated, twisting away, even as he hisses with pain. "We need to go. We can’t stay here."

Harry tries to hold him still, but everywhere he tries to put his hands is littered with scrapes and bruises. He cringes at the sudden cry when he pushes Cisco’s shoulders down to the bed. "Please. Please stop." 

There are tears welling up in Cisco’s eyes when he says, "But what if they recognize you?"

The question makes Harry freeze in place, his hands still on Cisco’s shoulders. He forces himself to take a deep slow breath. Cisco’s face is twisted with fear. One of them has to stay calm. "No, no. That’s not going to happen. No one is going to recognize me, because no one is looking. I’m safe. It’s okay."

"But Patty has a gun, and she’s going to –"

Confused, Harry touches his free hand to the scar on his chest. It’s been months since Patty Spivot left Central City. Cisco hadn’t even been there when the shooting had happened, so why was he acting like he’d seen… It occurs to him that if Cisco can see the future, he can almost certainly see the past. He takes the hand he is holding and slips in under his shirt, pressing it to the scar beneath. "That’s over. It’s done. She’s not going to hurt me again."

Harry whispers whatever reassurance he can think of until Cisco’s agitation quiets. His fingers dig into Harry’s chest, framing the scar there. Cisco murmurs, "You’re okay."

"I’m okay." He leans forward and presses his lips to Cisco’s forehead. "I love you."

"I know."

Harry pulls back and snorts. "Did you just quote Star Wars at me?"

Cisco stares at him, a wrinkle appearing between his eyes. "... Not on purpose?"

It’s the first time Harry has said those words since his wife died. At least, the first time he’s ever said them to anyone but Jesse. And in return, he just got an accidental Star Wars quote. He’s not sure what he was expecting, but that wasn’t it. A purposeful one, maybe. Something shakes inside him. He’s not sure if it’s the start of laughter or tears. He’s here. Cisco is here. That’s the only part he cares about.

**Author's Note:**

> So, one more story to go. And, yes, the next one really will be the end. If nothing else, it's getting harder and harder to find titles. Let that be a lesson to all my readers. If you go with theme names for a series, make sure it's flexible enough to cover the whole series.
> 
> I will, however, be writing other stuff, including other harrisco. If you want to see what I'm up to and some of my rambling thoughts, my tumblr is terrie01.tumblr.com.


End file.
